WEBVTT 00:00:01.358 --> 00:00:06.442 Coming up on The Children's Hour, it's the third episode in our four-part series, Communication 00:00:06.442 --> 00:00:12.687 Nation, Episode 3, Other Voices, Other Sounds. Today we'll explore communications that aren't 00:00:12.687 --> 00:00:18.232 spoken with voices. Our bodies are revealing what our minds are thinking all the time. And 00:00:18.232 --> 00:00:22.915 our first guest is a speech-language pathologist who teaches nonverbal communication skills 00:00:22.915 --> 00:00:27.829 to kids. Then we'll meet Brad Klein and his deaf parents, Candy and Marty. Even though 00:00:27.829 --> 00:00:33.543 Brad can hear, his first language was sign language. We'll also look into assistive technology devices 00:00:33.543 --> 00:00:39.505 which help people communicate. We've got learning guides and activities for this episode at ChildrensHour.org. 00:00:39.586 --> 00:00:44.367 The Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour Incorporated. We're a New Mexico based 00:00:44.367 --> 00:00:49.519 non-profit organization working with children to make the best and high quality kids public 00:00:49.519 --> 00:00:55.432 radio. You can learn a lot more about us at ChildrensHour.org. It's time for The Children's 00:00:55.432 --> 00:01:09.537 Hour, Kids Public Radio. Do you know why my iPod is shaped like a Coca-Cola bottle? 00:01:09.537 --> 00:01:21.260 I don't know why! Because it only plays pop music. It's time for The Children's Hour, 00:01:21.260 --> 00:01:23.698 Kids Public Radio! 00:01:27.374 --> 00:01:27.762 you. 00:01:39.694 --> 00:01:49.362 Take a walk in someone else's shoes and try to understand another point of view. Look around 00:01:49.362 --> 00:02:00.331 and you will see many faces and different personalities. Why don't you try to think about 00:02:00.331 --> 00:02:10.130 if you had something to say but couldn't get the words out? You'd feel sad, too. So much 00:02:10.130 --> 00:02:21.870 better with a friend helping you. So take a walk, take a walk In somebody else's shoe. Take a 00:02:21.870 --> 00:02:30.845 walk in someone else's shoes. Just take a walk in someone else's shoes. You know we're standing 00:02:30.845 --> 00:02:39.459 around on common ground. So take the first step, you've got nothing to lose Try to look at each 00:02:39.459 --> 00:02:47.382 other like a sister and brother. You'll find what's special inside me and you. Everybody 00:02:47.382 --> 00:02:57.102 join hands all over the land and take a walk in someone else's shoes. Now just imagine if 00:02:57.102 --> 00:03:06.463 you opened a book and the letters on the pages didn't really look how you thought. They should 00:03:06.463 --> 00:03:14.983 go, but you turned around and found a friend to show. To show you how, make sense of it 00:03:14.983 --> 00:03:24.175 all, cause everybody needs a hand, whether big or small. So take a walk, in somebody else's 00:03:24.175 --> 00:03:32.106 shoes. Let the star walk now. Take a walk in someone else's shoes. Someone else's going too. 00:03:32.106 --> 00:03:38.686 Just take a walk in someone else's. Understand another point. You know we're standing around 00:03:38.686 --> 00:03:46.926 on common ground. So take the first step, you've got nothing to lose. Try to look at each other 00:03:46.926 --> 00:03:55.390 like a sister and brother. You'll find what's special inside me and you. Everybody join hands 00:03:55.390 --> 00:04:04.070 all over the land and take a walk in someone else's shoes Just take a walk in someone else's 00:04:04.070 --> 00:04:15.487 shoes. Yeah, take a walk in someone else's shoes. No, we're standing around. So take the first 00:04:15.487 --> 00:04:23.204 step, you've got nothing to lose You've got to look at each other like sisters and brothers. 00:04:23.204 --> 00:04:30.750 You'll find what's special inside me and you. Everybody join hands all over the land.And 00:04:30.750 --> 00:04:39.968 take a walk in someone else's shoes. Everybody join hands all over the land Just take a walk 00:04:39.968 --> 00:04:51.764 in someone else's shoes .Everybody join hands all over the land. And take a walk in someone 00:04:51.764 --> 00:04:54.866 else's shoes. 00:05:02.510 --> 00:05:07.773 That's the Swingset Mamas right here on The Children's Hour. This is The Children's Hour, 00:05:07.773 --> 00:05:15.137 in Katie Stone, and I am delighted to be with you today and all of these kids at the outpost 00:05:15.237 --> 00:05:22.741 and on Zoom. Hello everyone. Hello. And who do we have with us today? Hi, it's Thorfin. 00:05:22.842 --> 00:05:30.346 Hi, it's Jo. Hi, it's Lily Mae. Hi, it's Nina. Hi, it's Max. Hello, it's Amadeus. Hi, it's 00:05:30.346 --> 00:05:36.202 Thaniel. Hi, it's Amaya. Well, thank you all so much for being here at the Outpost Performance 00:05:36.202 --> 00:05:42.875 Space in Albuquerque, New Mexico and on Zoom and all of you out in listener land. On The 00:05:42.875 --> 00:05:49.057 Children's Hour, this is the third episode in our four part radio series called Communication 00:05:49.057 --> 00:05:55.860 Nation, where we're exploring various forms of communication through languages, media 00:05:55.860 --> 00:06:02.045 and community building. We're calling this episode Other Voices Other Sounds. And when 00:06:02.045 --> 00:06:09.268 I say sounds, I don't just mean the ones that we hear with our ears. All of us use our bodies 00:06:09.268 --> 00:06:17.272 to communicate through our facial expressions, gestures, posture, even our breath. That's 00:06:17.272 --> 00:06:23.444 how we know what our parents are thinking when they just give us the look. Sometimes this 00:06:23.444 --> 00:06:30.125 is called body language. Others call it nonverbal communication and we're going to learn more 00:06:30.125 --> 00:06:37.117 about that from speech language pathologist Marci Laurel. There are people who only use 00:06:37.117 --> 00:06:43.499 gestures in their bodies to communicate and we're going to meet a family who uses sign 00:06:43.499 --> 00:06:51.361 language as their primary communication. Brad Klein is a C.O.D.A, a child of deaf adults and 00:06:51.361 --> 00:06:58.067 his parents Marty and Candy are going to join us to teach us about sign language and deaf 00:06:58.067 --> 00:07:04.844 culture. And you know, it's not unusual to need a little help to communicate. That's where 00:07:04.844 --> 00:07:10.209 assistive technology can come into play. There are people who have to communicate through 00:07:10.209 --> 00:07:15.904 technology only, and there are others who just use it to support their ability to speak aloud. 00:07:16.824 --> 00:07:22.448 Tibbany Ho is from the Rio Rancho Public School District in New Mexico and she visited the 00:07:22.448 --> 00:07:28.292 Sunspot Solar Studio to explain. We have a lot to learn on The Children's Hour today. 00:07:28.292 --> 00:07:35.547 You can find more information about Communication Nation and this episode, Other Voices, at ChildrensHour.org. 00:07:35.547 --> 00:07:39.990 Let's learn together today on The Children's Hour. This is Brady Rymer. 00:07:46.647 --> 00:07:47.488 Try to fix. 00:08:07.552 --> 00:08:14.162 Try to fix me, love me for who try to fix me. 00:08:27.448 --> 00:08:35.778 So, please don't try to fix me, love me for who I am. Please don't try to fix me, love 00:08:35.778 --> 00:08:37.490 me for who I am. 00:09:04.462 --> 00:09:05.138 I 00:09:17.102 --> 00:09:25.806 me show you what I know. So please don't try to fix me. Love me for who I am. Please don't 00:09:25.806 --> 00:09:37.161 try to fix me Love me for who I am. Please don't try to fix me. Please don't try to fix 00:09:37.161 --> 00:09:50.386 me. You gotta celebrate me. Motivate me Invigorate Love me for who I. 00:10:26.936 --> 00:10:31.849 You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm Katie Stone. And today, we're talking about 00:10:31.849 --> 00:10:38.813 communication. It's easy to overlook such an essential part of our lives. We humans communicate 00:10:38.813 --> 00:10:47.248 with our words, our technology, and even our bodies. This is Communication Nation, a special 00:10:47.248 --> 00:10:52.360 series from The Children's Hour where we explore various forms of communication through media, 00:10:52.360 --> 00:10:58.701 languages, and community building. This program is made possible by funding from the National 00:10:58.701 --> 00:11:03.632 Endowment for the Humanities and the United We Stand Connecting Through Culture Initiative 00:11:03.632 --> 00:11:11.933 and by the New Mexico Humanities Council. This is Communication Nation, Episode 3, Part 00:11:11.933 --> 00:11:18.016 1, Non-Verbal Communication. We've already learned about how humans rely on speaking to 00:11:18.016 --> 00:11:23.148 each other to communicate. But did you know that a big part of how we share information 00:11:23.148 --> 00:11:31.035 uses no words at all? That's called nonverbal communication. Today we're exploring how people 00:11:31.035 --> 00:11:37.309 use their bodies to express their thoughts and feelings and how even entire languages are 00:11:37.369 --> 00:11:43.863 only physical. Marci Laurel is a speech language pathologist at the University of New Mexico's 00:11:43.863 --> 00:11:49.817 Center for Development and Disability. That's somebody who works with people who need support 00:11:49.817 --> 00:11:56.368 in expressing their own communications. We invited her to the Sunspot Solar Studio here in Albuquerque, 00:11:56.368 --> 00:12:03.192 New Mexico to show us how a specialist like Marci teaches nonverbal communications. That 00:12:03.192 --> 00:12:09.236 could be a lot of different things, including how we use our bodies, like how close we stand 00:12:09.236 --> 00:12:14.149 to someone. Do we turn our body towards someone when we're talking to them? How do we use 00:12:14.149 --> 00:12:19.596 our hands? Do we make gestures while we're talking or even when we're not talking? How do we use 00:12:19.596 --> 00:12:24.549 our face? Facial expressions that show you're mad or you're sad or you're frustrated. Are 00:12:24.549 --> 00:12:30.242 we loud? Are we soft? Do we sound friendly or angry? All the ways we communicate without 00:12:30.242 --> 00:12:34.915 using words, which I think is kind of funny in a way because adults often tell children, 00:12:34.915 --> 00:12:41.028 use your words. But actually the way we communicate is so much more than just our words. Marci 00:12:41.028 --> 00:12:47.282 told us that a lot of the time the most important way humans communicate is with our body, face, 00:12:47.422 --> 00:12:54.111 and tone of voice. People are watching us to see how we're communicating without words 00:12:54.111 --> 00:12:59.396 and also if the way we communicate with our bodies matches what we're saying with our 00:12:59.396 --> 00:13:05.100 words. If we're saying words but our body doesn't match, people feel uncomfortable and they're 00:13:05.100 --> 00:13:09.624 always going to believe our bodies every time. So right now if I say I'm so excited to be 00:13:09.624 --> 00:13:15.159 talking to you, it might seem like I'm excited. But if I say I'm so excited to be talking 00:13:15.159 --> 00:13:20.350 to you, you're going to know I'm not excited, you're not going to believe my words. So it's very 00:13:20.350 --> 00:13:26.194 important that we use our nonverbal communication. Another way it's important is that we have 00:13:26.194 --> 00:13:31.278 to be able to read other people's nonverbal communication. we can't see a person's face 00:13:31.278 --> 00:13:36.131 or body, it's hard to totally know what they mean when they're talking to us. We might not 00:13:36.131 --> 00:13:40.114 feel so comfortable and safe if we can't get that match up and we don't understand it. 00:13:43.456 --> 00:13:48.529 It's also important because sometimes we can get into trouble if we don't understand somebody 00:13:48.529 --> 00:13:53.762 else's nonverbal communication. Say you're in the classroom and something's going on and 00:13:53.762 --> 00:13:58.454 the teacher starts to have a voice that sounds kind of irritated. Maybe they cross their 00:13:58.554 --> 00:14:03.087 arms or they put their hands on their hips and they show it with their face. I'm really getting 00:14:03.087 --> 00:14:08.140 frustrated. If you can't notice that, you might end up being in trouble when you didn't really 00:14:08.140 --> 00:14:12.152 mean to be. And the same thing goes for adults when we're talking to the people in our lives. 00:14:13.068 --> 00:14:17.611 We learn nonverbal communication basically by watching and noticing what people are doing 00:14:17.611 --> 00:14:23.305 when we're very, very small. And then we copy or we imitate what other people do. But then 00:14:23.345 --> 00:14:28.469 sometimes kids don't necessarily pick up the cues of nonverbal communication on their own. 00:14:28.469 --> 00:14:34.703 What populations might have to learn them in a different way? So sometimes kids who 00:14:34.703 --> 00:14:39.457 have what we call neurodivergent ways of thinking and being in the world, that might be kids 00:14:39.457 --> 00:14:46.882 who have autism or attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, or just challenges maybe with impulsivity 00:14:46.882 --> 00:14:51.063 that makes it hard for them to pay attention to everything going on around them might not 00:14:51.063 --> 00:14:55.314 pick up on all of this when they're real little bitty and then they don't learn it right away 00:14:55.314 --> 00:15:01.716 and people don't maybe realize that they haven't picked that up after all. Neuro means brain 00:15:01.716 --> 00:15:11.083 and brain function and diversion means different from a normal path maybe. So Neurodivergent 00:15:11.083 --> 00:15:16.707 is maybe a brain that is on a different path. That's like such a great way to say it. And 00:15:16.707 --> 00:15:21.251 if you think about it, we're all on our own path, right? So if you expand and expand 00:15:21.251 --> 00:15:25.615 how you think about that, we're all different in how our brains operate and how we think 00:15:25.615 --> 00:15:31.299 about things. But sometimes we have these labels that we apply to people when it seems like 00:15:31.299 --> 00:15:36.884 it might be helpful in knowing how to help them. Being neurodivergent can change how a person 00:15:36.904 --> 00:15:42.905 uses or notices nonverbal communication. But that can make it hard to make friends. It's 00:15:42.905 --> 00:15:47.907 all about sending messages and receiving messages. So if you're trying to send a message but 00:15:47.907 --> 00:15:51.729 you're not sending the message you meant to send, or someone's trying to send you a message 00:15:51.729 --> 00:15:57.682 but you're not catching it, then it can really affect social interaction. 00:16:02.414 --> 00:16:08.260 It's Marci Laurel from the Center for Development and Disability at the University of New Mexico. 00:16:08.260 --> 00:16:13.747 You're listening to The Children's Hour. I'm Katie Stone. We have a lot more coming up. 00:16:13.747 --> 00:16:20.434 This is Communication Nation, Episode 3, Other Voices, Other Sounds. 00:16:27.758 --> 00:16:39.481 I was thinking my own thoughts and you your own thoughts and we were talking quite a lot 00:16:39.481 --> 00:16:40.776 and no one 00:16:45.592 --> 00:16:58.876 was thinking my own way say would sway till something funny happened on the way to better 00:16:58.916 --> 00:17:08.503 things. I'm listening. Life is black and white, just me. I'm listening. There are colors I 00:17:08.503 --> 00:17:14.618 don't see. I'm listening. Here's a new full... I'm listening, 00:17:17.918 --> 00:17:23.058 I'm listening, I'm listening, I'm listening, 00:17:28.503 --> 00:17:28.873 you. 00:17:38.606 --> 00:17:49.152 Thinking your own thoughts and I was thinking my own thoughts. We were like two ships so 00:17:49.152 --> 00:17:52.234 lost out on the darkened sea. 00:17:55.310 --> 00:18:07.008 I shot out a warning flare. You threw rope into midair. We both felt so much better there. 00:18:07.008 --> 00:18:16.745 Seeing you and seeing me I'm listening Life is black and white, just me I'm listening. There 00:18:16.745 --> 00:18:30.459 are colors I don't see. Here's a new philosophy Talk until we get to meet You can help me 00:18:30.459 --> 00:18:39.570 truly see uh I'm thinking of. 00:18:55.534 --> 00:18:56.715 Then you're alone. 00:19:13.870 --> 00:19:22.218 The songs you sing and after all the times you bring and as we swing. 00:19:29.166 --> 00:19:42.013 Life is black and white just me. There are colors I don't see. Here's a new philosophy. 00:19:42.013 --> 00:19:51.378 Talk until we get to meet. You can help me truly see. 00:19:55.032 --> 00:20:02.717 That's Doctor Noize and Justin Roberts. I'm Listening. You are listening to The Children's Hour. I'm 00:20:02.717 --> 00:20:08.751 Katie Stone and this is episode three of our four part radio series, Communication Nation. 00:20:08.751 --> 00:20:15.345 This series is also available as curriculum for teachers. You can learn a lot more about 00:20:15.345 --> 00:20:23.614 it at childrenshour.org. Look for Communication Nation. You're listening to The Children's 00:20:23.614 --> 00:20:29.866 Hour, Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. The Children's Hour is a production of The 00:20:29.866 --> 00:20:35.918 Children's Hour, Inc. We're a New Mexico-based nonprofit organization, and we're funded by 00:20:35.918 --> 00:20:43.370 listeners just like you. Learn more at Children'sHour.org. The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs 00:20:43.370 --> 00:20:48.001 supports The Children's Hour. Museum Hill in Santa Fe, New Mexico is where arts, culture, 00:20:48.001 --> 00:20:54.376 and nature converge. Plan your visit at MuseumHill.net. Keep up with The Children's Hour and sign 00:20:54.376 --> 00:21:02.498 up for our monthly newsletter at childrenshour.org. Taka din nam tadiko Taka janaku Kupa Taka 00:21:02.498 --> 00:21:07.298 Taka Kupa Taka tadin Kupa Taka janaku Tadin Kupa Taka Taka din Taka tadin Taka Taka tadin 00:21:07.298 --> 00:21:23.078 Taka tadin tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka 00:21:23.078 --> 00:21:29.650 tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin Taka tadin tadin tadin tadin 00:21:30.424 --> 00:21:42.769 Taka Taka Dhimmi Taka Tata Jam Taka Dhimmi Taka Tata Jam Taka Tata Tata Jam Taka Tata Tata 00:21:42.769 --> 00:21:51.333 Jam Taka Tata Jam Tata Jam Taka Tata Jam Taka Taka Tata Jam Taka Dhimmi Tari Ku Dhan Ku Dhan 00:21:51.333 --> 00:21:55.775 Ku Jan Ku Gen Ku Tung Ku Pundari Kadada Kaara Kaara Tum Turgu Taka Taka Turgu Taka Turgu 00:21:55.775 --> 00:22:17.298 Taka Taka Turgu Taka Turgu Taka Turgu Taka Turgu Turgu Taka oh you oh 00:22:46.754 --> 00:22:53.478 That's Sheila Chandra from Weaving My Ancestors Voices with Speaking in Tongues 1. You're 00:22:53.478 --> 00:23:00.922 listening to The Children's Hour. This is Communication Nation episode 3. Other voices, Other Sounds. 00:23:00.922 --> 00:23:07.626 We're talking with Marci Laurel. She's a speech language practitioner and she is explaining 00:23:07.626 --> 00:23:15.140 to us about the purpose and function of nonverbal communication. That means the communication 00:23:15.140 --> 00:23:21.489 we do with our bodies without even thinking about it. As we're learning about the importance 00:23:21.489 --> 00:23:28.124 of nonverbal communication in our lives, for some people, those cues don't come so easily. 00:23:28.124 --> 00:23:36.751 How do you teach neurodivergent people about nonverbal communication? It's tricky. If 00:23:36.751 --> 00:23:41.265 somebody's struggling with their nonverbal communication, either using their bodies and their faces and 00:23:41.265 --> 00:23:45.901 their voices to communicate, or they're not catching other people's messages, And if they 00:23:45.901 --> 00:23:49.253 think it would be helpful to them, or maybe if they're younger, their parents and their 00:23:49.253 --> 00:23:56.788 teachers think so, then we might help them to notice. We might practice by making big, dramatic 00:23:56.788 --> 00:24:06.445 expressions. Sad, angry, happy, you name it. And then Marcy told us they practice labeling 00:24:06.445 --> 00:24:12.479 those feelings. Maybe we give the person clues about what to look for and what it means as 00:24:12.479 --> 00:24:17.853 part of an interaction. or maybe we record our voices, or maybe we watch videos and try to 00:24:17.853 --> 00:24:22.336 ascertain or think about what somebody's trying to communicate with their bodies and their 00:24:22.336 --> 00:24:26.099 faces and their hands, all of those ways we talked about. So it's kind of like being a 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:32.564 detective. We learn to kind of clue by clue, learn to pay attention to what this nonverbal 00:24:32.564 --> 00:24:37.868 communication is and what it means. But here's where things get a little complicated. Not 00:24:37.888 --> 00:24:43.375 everybody wants to communicate in the same ways. Say one person may not like making a lot of 00:24:43.375 --> 00:24:48.109 eye contact. If that's not comfortable for you, for whatever reason, maybe you just learn 00:24:48.109 --> 00:24:51.931 to turn your shoulders toward that person. You don't have to look right at them, but you 00:24:51.931 --> 00:24:56.534 show them with your body that you're interested. So we have to be careful not to get so stuck 00:24:56.534 --> 00:25:02.769 that the right way is one way, when the right way is really many ways. Can you talk a little 00:25:02.769 --> 00:25:11.384 bit about how nonverbal communication here might be different from other places in general? 00:25:11.384 --> 00:25:17.847 How is a kid supposed to know how to behave in different circumstances? So there's differences 00:25:17.847 --> 00:25:23.611 in nonverbal communication across cultures, whether that's a different country or a different 00:25:23.611 --> 00:25:29.174 part of this country or different families. There are differences in the rules that apply. 00:25:29.644 --> 00:25:34.379 And the most important thing about this is that sometimes we're sending messages that we don't 00:25:34.379 --> 00:25:39.244 mean to send. Like if I'm a person that likes to get real touchy feely and I want to put 00:25:39.244 --> 00:25:43.418 my arm around you, I want to stand real close to you, and that's my way of showing that 00:25:43.418 --> 00:25:48.663 I'm really interested in communicating with you, but you feel like I'm just getting way 00:25:48.663 --> 00:25:54.472 too close and you don't even know what I mean by that, now we have a miscommunication. This 00:25:54.472 --> 00:25:59.985 goes for how big our gestures are. Do I use my body in a big way? Or do I keep my body 00:25:59.985 --> 00:26:05.375 kind of quiet when I'm talking? This would again go for the use of my voice. Am I kind 00:26:05.375 --> 00:26:12.322 of loud for you? Or is it an understanding that my voice volume goes up when I get excited? 00:26:12.322 --> 00:26:18.659 It's the way I am. It's the way my brain is. Can you tell from the nonverbal communication 00:26:18.659 --> 00:26:24.623 of the people you're talking to, whether they're receiving you and your communication well or 00:26:24.623 --> 00:26:29.685 not. It goes back to that detective work. What does somebody's face look like if they're a 00:26:29.685 --> 00:26:34.568 little uncomfortable? Are they stepping back a little bit with their body? Are they leaning 00:26:34.568 --> 00:26:38.330 in to show they're with you? Or are they kind of backing all the way away because they're 00:26:38.330 --> 00:26:44.073 not comfortable with your way of communicating? Sometimes it really takes a lot of paying 00:26:44.073 --> 00:26:49.314 attention. to make sure our messages are going back and forth just the way we want them to. 00:26:54.018 --> 00:27:00.342 When it comes to people who are neurodivergent, maybe some of us who are not neurodivergent 00:27:00.342 --> 00:27:08.127 misunderstand them. And they're not understanding our nonverbal communication and we're not understanding 00:27:08.247 --> 00:27:16.042 their nonverbal communication. Why should we be aware that this is the case? So it's so 00:27:16.042 --> 00:27:21.365 important for us in every avenue of our lives. whoever we're talking to and being with, right? 00:27:21.365 --> 00:27:25.567 But especially we already talked about how some people who are neurodivergent might find these 00:27:25.567 --> 00:27:30.859 types of interactions challenging in different ways or just interact in different ways. So 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:35.501 the first thing I would say is it's so important to always think the best of everyone. Don't 00:27:35.501 --> 00:27:43.764 jump to the conclusion that something is happening that is against you or not right before 00:27:43.764 --> 00:27:50.268 we even know what's happening. Stay with the interaction. ask questions sometimes to better 00:27:50.268 --> 00:27:55.783 understand what the person is feeling or if the person stands too close we could give 00:27:55.783 --> 00:28:00.719 them some clues that maybe we want to step back a little bit but not to judge. It's so important 00:28:00.719 --> 00:28:06.525 not to judge because everyone in every circumstance is absolutely doing the best they can and 00:28:06.565 --> 00:28:11.890 everyone in every circumstance wants to have a good communication. Everyone does. 00:28:22.558 --> 00:28:28.434 Marci Laurel. She's a speech-language pathologist at the University of New Mexico's Center for 00:28:28.434 --> 00:28:34.710 Development and Disability. She's somebody who helps people of all ages communicate better. 00:28:41.656 --> 00:29:04.494 You uh shows how I'm feeling. I when feeling happy I frown when feeling down. My face shows 00:29:04.494 --> 00:29:13.646 how I'm feeling. My eyes are open wide when I feel surprised. Your face shows feelings 00:29:13.646 --> 00:29:23.666 too I'll look to you. Because your face shows how you're feeling. When you smile I know you're 00:29:23.666 --> 00:29:33.699 happy. When you frown I know you're down. When you bite your lower lip it means you're nervous. 00:29:33.699 --> 00:29:42.962 And when one eyebrow lifts you're curious. When your eyebrows join together. You may be furious. 00:29:42.962 --> 00:30:10.881 Our faces show our feelings. We smile when we are happy. We frown when feeling down. 00:30:10.881 --> 00:30:23.604 Our faces show our feelings. We look to one another, watch faces to discover. Feelings 00:30:28.568 --> 00:30:35.283 That's Lindsay Munroe right here on The Children's Hour. We just learned that nonverbal communication 00:30:35.283 --> 00:30:41.157 is a big part of how we talk to each other. But did you know that many people across the 00:30:41.157 --> 00:30:48.182 world communicate only with their hands, face, and body? Maybe you've heard the word deaf 00:30:48.182 --> 00:30:55.897 before. That's when a person has impaired hearing. A person can be born deaf or become deaf after 00:30:55.897 --> 00:31:02.393 an injury or illness. Some deaf people can only pick up certain sounds while others don't 00:31:02.393 --> 00:31:08.097 hear anything at all. They can't listen to you or me talking or even hear their own voice. 00:31:08.097 --> 00:31:15.962 So using words can be hard. And that's why many rely on sign language. Brad Klein is 00:31:15.962 --> 00:31:22.687 a comedian. His parents, Candy and Marty, were born deaf. Together, they speak using sign 00:31:22.687 --> 00:31:29.329 language. I tell a lot of my friends who have hearing parents, that my life growing up was 00:31:29.329 --> 00:31:35.784 very similar to theirs. I learned sign language just like all of us learned English. As an 00:31:35.784 --> 00:31:41.808 infant, you absorb everything and anything around you. There are 270 countries in the 00:31:41.808 --> 00:31:48.413 world, but over 300 different sign languages. And that's because sign language can also 00:31:48.413 --> 00:31:53.036 be partly regional. Sometimes a north part of a country will have a slightly different 00:31:53.036 --> 00:31:58.203 sign language than the southern part of the country. About 11 million people in America 00:31:58.203 --> 00:32:05.117 identify as deaf. That's less than 5 % of our population. Deaf people are part of a small 00:32:05.117 --> 00:32:11.551 community and sometimes people assume that makes life more lonely. Very few hearing people 00:32:11.551 --> 00:32:19.025 know sign language, but Marty told us that assumption isn't so true. We deaf people do not feel 00:32:19.025 --> 00:32:26.823 lonely because we always get together. It's a common band. Candy says deaf people have 00:32:26.823 --> 00:32:33.957 a vibrant social world and a culture all of their own. This is my mom's voice and you 00:32:33.957 --> 00:32:40.121 can hear how different it is. Because she can't hear her own voice. But she can feel 00:32:40.121 --> 00:32:44.844 the vibrations. That's how she learned speech therapy was in the vibrations of how words 00:32:44.844 --> 00:32:49.736 sounded. There's a Chicago club for the deaf where we're from, where we go bowling together, 00:32:49.782 --> 00:32:56.179 we socialize, go out to dinner together. Way back in my time, sign language wasn't always 00:32:56.179 --> 00:33:01.012 allowed in school, but now it's definitely allowed in school and a lot more families get 00:33:01.012 --> 00:33:05.634 involved in learning sign language. So deaf people don't feel lonely anymore. If you're 00:33:05.634 --> 00:33:11.117 deaf and you can't read lips, how do you communicate with people when you do important stuff like 00:33:11.117 --> 00:33:15.790 bank meetings? Do you always have to bring an interpreter with you or can you sometimes 00:33:15.790 --> 00:33:22.924 get by with just visual communication? Great question. When my boss asked me for an important 00:33:22.924 --> 00:33:28.179 meeting, I always say, bring an interpreter so that there's no miscommunication. If it's 00:33:28.179 --> 00:33:33.311 one-on-one, I will just ask them to write it down or I'm pretty good at lip reading. Martin 00:33:33.311 --> 00:33:39.263 is holding up his iPhone. How do you use it, Martin, to communicate? Do you actually type 00:33:39.423 --> 00:33:47.405 the message out? This is the app that converts speech into text. And I read it at the same 00:33:47.405 --> 00:33:54.519 time, real time, and it's perfect. I think it's also important for me to bring up what's called 00:33:54.519 --> 00:34:02.481 the ADA. It's the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's the right of my parents to have equal 00:34:02.622 --> 00:34:09.404 and opportune communication in public settings, such as doctor's offices, public meetings, 00:34:09.784 --> 00:34:17.016 news conferences, so that they have the ability to understand and be on equal footing to everybody 00:34:17.016 --> 00:34:24.313 else. So while my dad does prefer the live transcription, he is entitled to having an interpreter there, 00:34:24.474 --> 00:34:29.486 which has happened when I had to go to the emergency room as an eight-year-old, the doctors tried 00:34:29.486 --> 00:34:33.998 to talk to me and said, can you interpret for your parents? And my parents had to be firm 00:34:33.998 --> 00:34:39.111 and say, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, we have the right to an interpreter for 00:34:39.111 --> 00:34:45.384 this very important communication about my son's health. So while I do interpret for little 00:34:45.384 --> 00:34:50.572 things like if we're out at a restaurant and my mom says, you just tell him I wanted iced 00:34:50.572 --> 00:34:55.668 tea? Sure. But if we're talking about buying a mortgage, a bank meeting, a doctor's visit, 00:34:55.869 --> 00:35:01.095 it's incredibly important for my parents to have clear and concise communication. And 00:35:01.095 --> 00:35:03.338 the Americans with Disabilities Act allows us to do so. 00:35:07.874 --> 00:35:13.379 When we're thinking about communication, all of us sitting in this room and listening on 00:35:13.379 --> 00:35:21.046 the radio, because by nature of radio listeners, it's usually people who can hear. So what 00:35:21.046 --> 00:35:29.453 could we who can hear do to make our communities more inclusive for people who cannot hear? 00:35:29.453 --> 00:35:36.601 Captioning on everything. Accessibility for some is accessibility for everybody because 00:35:36.601 --> 00:35:42.732 everybody can benefit when you have it. It's about the mindset. They have to know that 00:35:42.773 --> 00:35:50.696 access is very, very important between two or more people. Most importantly for us, 00:35:50.696 --> 00:35:56.419 for communication, it's to understand what's going on. Sometimes the communication falls 00:35:56.419 --> 00:36:01.181 off. People say, we'll tell you later. And that's the challenge for us. We want to be 00:36:01.181 --> 00:36:06.901 involved. And we can do anything but hear. And so we enjoy having live captioning, is 00:36:06.901 --> 00:36:11.073 what we're using right now, along with the interpreter. We really appreciate so much the 00:36:11.073 --> 00:36:16.826 technology and the deaf children nowadays have so much more access than we did in our days. 00:36:16.826 --> 00:36:23.569 was Brad Klein interpreting for his mom, Candy. Brad is a hearing comedian out of Chicago 00:36:23.569 --> 00:36:28.662 and his parents, Candice and Martin Klein, otherwise known as Candy and Marty, are deaf. 00:36:32.238 --> 00:36:37.186 Have you ever heard of sign language? It's a way many people talk using their hands and 00:36:37.186 --> 00:36:41.934 body instead of words. Kind of like dancing. We're gonna learn a little bit today. 00:36:57.230 --> 00:37:00.568 Let's sign some phrases together. Just copy what I do. 00:37:03.854 --> 00:37:13.345 Now your turn. um Great job! 00:37:23.658 --> 00:37:28.552 There you go. See you later. 00:38:05.550 --> 00:38:11.122 a guessing game. I'll do a sign and you have to guess what it means by hopping to the left 00:38:11.203 --> 00:38:12.596 or the right. Let's go! 00:38:51.214 --> 00:38:54.583 Oh well, let's dance! 00:39:33.966 --> 00:39:38.199 Talking With My Body is Danny Go! Right here on The Children's Hour, and we're thinking 00:39:38.199 --> 00:39:44.433 about talking with our bodies as we spoke with Brad Klein and his parents, Marty and Candy. 00:39:44.433 --> 00:39:51.087 That family uses sign language and talks with their body all the time. We're all doing it 00:39:51.087 --> 00:39:58.031 all the time, whether or not we notice. We're speaking with our gestures, our looks, even 00:39:58.031 --> 00:40:04.986 our stance. So much to learn today about nonverbal unspoken communication and we have more coming 00:40:04.986 --> 00:40:11.471 up about how assistive technology is being used to help even more people communicate. 00:40:11.471 --> 00:40:17.786 You're listening to The Children's Hour. Kids Public Radio. We'll be right back. Users at 00:40:17.786 --> 00:40:23.340 tokenibis.org donate to The Children's Hour every week without spending a dime. You can 00:40:23.340 --> 00:40:28.813 learn more at tokenibis.org. Thanks to the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque, New 00:40:28.813 --> 00:40:33.995 Mexico for hosting The Children's Hour. Support for The Children's Hour is provided by United 00:40:33.995 --> 00:40:40.107 Way of North Central New Mexico. Support provided by the City of Albuquerque and the Urban Enhancement 00:40:40.107 --> 00:40:46.079 Trust Fund. The Children's Hour is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the 00:40:46.079 --> 00:40:52.256 Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts. Keep up with 00:40:52.256 --> 00:40:57.554 The Children's Hour and subscribe to our monthly newsletter at ChildrensHour.org. 00:41:09.548 --> 00:41:19.521 Just one thing, it will be, oh, okay. Not do it, wake up, it's for tasteful and useless 00:41:19.521 --> 00:41:31.054 And time like these. Won't be made useless. Won't stand there like I don't do I'll get 00:41:31.054 --> 00:41:37.106 myself around my feet. To light the darkness out there. 00:42:03.808 --> 00:42:16.640 Listen after, hopes us create a peaceful world. Today never after. No more fights, let's all 00:42:16.640 --> 00:42:23.266 unite. For some will stand up for what's right and what's wrong. But there's a child who 00:42:23.266 --> 00:42:29.682 has no voice, their eyes shall go singing. 00:44:33.358 --> 00:44:38.389 That's Aaron Nigel Smith. You're listening to The Children's Hour. This is Communication 00:44:38.389 --> 00:44:44.871 Nation, Episode Three, Other Voices, Other Sounds. We've learned that many people talk without 00:44:44.871 --> 00:44:50.663 speaking words to each other. Our nonverbal communications send cues about what we're thinking. 00:44:50.663 --> 00:44:57.355 Sometimes people use physical languages like American Sign Language, but other times people 00:44:57.355 --> 00:45:03.100 just need support in order to speak. Tibbany Ho is a speech language pathologist just like 00:45:03.100 --> 00:45:08.755 our friend Marci Laurel. But her job looks a little different. She's an assistive technology 00:45:08.755 --> 00:45:14.900 coordinator at Rio Rancho Public Schools in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, a suburb of Albuquerque. 00:45:14.900 --> 00:45:22.907 Her job focuses on helping kids use assistive technology to communicate. Assistive technology 00:45:22.907 --> 00:45:29.182 in general is any device, program, or equipment that helps somebody with a disability be able 00:45:29.182 --> 00:45:34.844 to access their environment. And that can look differently depending on the person. Some people 00:45:34.844 --> 00:45:42.229 use what we call unaided forms of communication, like gestures, facial expressions, head nods. 00:45:42.229 --> 00:45:47.812 And then we have what we call aided, and that means they need some other device or system 00:45:47.812 --> 00:45:53.337 in front of them. Tibbany told us that while some may not communicate with spoken languages, 00:45:53.337 --> 00:46:01.976 everybody has a voice. Alternative Assistive Communication, or AAC, make sure that people 00:46:01.976 --> 00:46:07.884 can use it. People that are using augmentative communication are communicating and using 00:46:07.884 --> 00:46:14.796 their form of communication in the same ways that we all communicate. That system could 00:46:14.796 --> 00:46:21.018 be simple and low tech, a pencil and paper, a board used to write words, or a book with 00:46:21.018 --> 00:46:26.130 pictures to point at. And then we have our high-tech communication systems, which might look like 00:46:26.130 --> 00:46:31.362 an iPad, again with picture symbols, but when they press it, it might open to more pages 00:46:31.362 --> 00:46:37.464 and give them access to more vocabulary. People of all ages and backgrounds rely on high-tech 00:46:37.464 --> 00:46:43.846 speech assistants. Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton made history as the first sitting Congressperson 00:46:43.846 --> 00:46:49.218 to give a speech at the United States House of Representatives using speech technology. 00:46:49.218 --> 00:46:57.112 Speaker, last year I was diagnosed with Progressive supranuclear palsy or PSP. PSP makes it very 00:46:57.112 --> 00:47:01.934 difficult for me to speak and I use an assistive app so that you and our colleagues can understand 00:47:01.934 --> 00:47:09.200 me. Why might somebody need to rely on assistive speech technology? How does it help? Some people 00:47:09.200 --> 00:47:15.794 don't develop speech the same way that we do, or they might be difficult to understand. 00:47:15.794 --> 00:47:22.908 Sometimes we have people with language differences too. In our school district, we have universal 00:47:22.908 --> 00:47:27.981 communication boards in the classroom that we use with all of our students, including students 00:47:27.981 --> 00:47:33.263 with disabilities, students that come from other countries that speak different languages 00:47:33.263 --> 00:47:39.115 that are having a hard time expressing their communication with others. So using it in 00:47:39.115 --> 00:47:45.761 a more universal way to be able to connect with each other. Even as technology is getting 00:47:45.761 --> 00:47:50.960 better and better, you think about your phones if you've ever used Siri and Alexa, right? 00:47:50.960 --> 00:47:55.690 It could be used and considered a piece of assistive technology to help somebody access something 00:47:55.690 --> 00:48:01.385 that's a tool that a lot of us use all the time. And the words people are using with 00:48:01.385 --> 00:48:06.795 assistive technology are the same words that we use too. Over time, we've also developed 00:48:06.795 --> 00:48:12.178 more detailed picture symbols to use in speech assistance. For example, if I have a picture 00:48:12.178 --> 00:48:16.951 of a house and I'm pointing to the picture of the house, that could mean a lot of things, 00:48:16.951 --> 00:48:22.244 right? That could mean something happened at home that I want to tell you about or I want 00:48:22.244 --> 00:48:29.287 to go home. Today, speech tools encompass far more than simple images. At Rio Rancho Public 00:48:29.287 --> 00:48:35.968 Schools, Tibbany says there are detailed communication boards in classrooms and even on the playground. 00:48:35.968 --> 00:48:42.764 We're talking about your pronouns like I, you, he, she, it's verbs and action words, 00:48:42.764 --> 00:48:49.120 describing words. These are the boards that we have up around our school. And we've found 00:48:49.120 --> 00:48:55.707 that not only is it supporting students that need that for communication and speech, but 00:48:55.707 --> 00:49:01.937 also who might come from other languages and have language differences that make it 00:49:01.937 --> 00:49:08.023 difficult to communicate in the classroom. They're using the boards too to communicate with their 00:49:08.023 --> 00:49:15.220 teachers and their peers. Whether we're using body language, sign language, or AAC, having 00:49:15.220 --> 00:49:21.507 access to nonverbal communication brings us closer. We can share our feelings and ideas 00:49:21.507 --> 00:49:27.341 more easily. But there might be differences in the way communication happens when two people 00:49:27.361 --> 00:49:33.305 aren't vocally speaking. A conversation might take longer. It could have a different rhythm 00:49:33.305 --> 00:49:39.119 or it could require pauses. You know, as a communication partner, there are some good 00:49:39.119 --> 00:49:44.753 things to kind of keep in mind if you're talking to somebody that uses assistive technology. 00:49:44.874 --> 00:49:51.238 It definitely takes more time to create a message. So being patient when you're talking to somebody. 00:49:51.808 --> 00:49:59.563 who's using assistive technology is a good strategy. When we're patient, we're kind. 00:49:59.683 --> 00:50:06.547 And when we're kind, we have the best communication together. We listen without judgment, and 00:50:06.547 --> 00:50:13.811 we can learn so much from each other. You've been hearing from Tibbany Ho. She's the Assistive 00:50:13.811 --> 00:50:17.794 Technology Coordinator at Rio Rancho Public Schools in New Mexico. 00:50:30.990 --> 00:50:32.430 Do you see? 00:50:37.972 --> 00:50:50.738 see with your eyes. If all that you see is the outside of me, then I think you might 00:50:50.738 --> 00:51:02.873 be surprised that inside of me lives a spirit that's free, a spirit that soars through the 00:51:02.873 --> 00:51:21.499 skies. It's right here before you, it's easy to see When you look into my eyes So many 00:51:21.499 --> 00:51:36.918 things that I'll never do. So many things I can't say. Anyways, I'm exactly like you If 00:51:36.918 --> 00:51:49.218 you let me, I'll show you the way. Don't see what I can do. There's so much I can. The outside 00:51:49.218 --> 00:52:01.277 of me is just one part. Before you can know me, must understand. Sometimes you both see with 00:52:01.277 --> 00:52:11.835 your heart I've climbed every mountain, I've swam every sea I'm following the birds in 00:52:11.835 --> 00:52:22.805 the skies It's all here inside me, beneath what you see. You can feel it If only you'd 00:52:22.805 --> 00:52:38.230 fly And tell me. What do you see. When you're looking at me? What do you see through your 00:52:38.230 --> 00:52:53.064 eyes? If all that you see Is the outside of me? That I think you might be surprised. 00:52:53.165 --> 00:53:04.570 That inside of me lives a spirit that's free. A spirit that soars through the skies uh It's 00:53:04.671 --> 00:53:18.906 right here before you, it's easy to see When you look into my eyes Won't you look into my 00:53:18.906 --> 00:53:22.770 eyes? 00:53:37.912 --> 00:53:51.784 phone. Please see me as more than a dog that you throw a bone. Let's go for a walk Yeah, 00:53:51.784 --> 00:53:59.762 let's go outside No, I don't wanna hop in the car and go for a. 00:54:02.990 --> 00:54:13.910 A genuine encounter of the first degree I need you to stop what you're doing and look at me. 00:54:13.910 --> 00:54:16.338 Look at me 00:54:21.742 --> 00:54:28.390 Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me now! Look at me, look at me, look at me, 00:54:28.390 --> 00:54:32.274 look at me, look at me, look at me now! 00:54:38.382 --> 00:54:52.743 You're awfully busy. Got things to do. Just give me a moment of time with you I've got all 00:54:52.743 --> 00:55:03.878 these ideas. I want you to see. There's a person who's growing up inside of me 00:55:06.926 --> 00:55:17.150 I need your full attention. And I deserve it too I'm somebody important. I'm a part of you 00:55:17.150 --> 00:55:28.095 A part of you. Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, 00:55:28.095 --> 00:55:35.097 look at me now Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me now. 00:55:35.097 --> 00:55:44.168 Look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me now! Look at me, 00:55:44.168 --> 00:55:49.398 look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me now! 00:55:55.630 --> 00:56:10.002 Please don't be angry. I'm just a kid. I'm only doing the things that you once did. oh. 00:56:14.158 --> 00:56:21.487 From an oldie but goodie, a release by Sara Hickman called Big Kid right here on The Children's 00:56:21.487 --> 00:56:28.525 Hour, was Look At Me. Look Into My Eyes was before that with Annivar Salgado performing. 00:56:28.525 --> 00:56:34.592 He's a young man with cerebral palsy who uses assistive technology devices for communication. 00:56:35.480 --> 00:56:42.037 Communication Nation Episode Three, Other Voices, Other Sounds, is part of a larger podcast 00:56:42.037 --> 00:56:48.544 series of short form podcasts for teachers to use this series in the classroom. We have 00:56:48.544 --> 00:56:57.262 learning guides and activities posted at ChildrensHour.org. Look for Communication Nation. We have time 00:56:57.262 --> 00:57:00.945 for just one more here on The Children's Hour. We're going to go out with Frances England. 00:57:00.945 --> 00:57:06.238 This is from Blink of an Eye. Tell Me It All, and I hope you will. We'll catch you next 00:57:06.238 --> 00:57:14.492 time for another edition of The Children's Hour. Sometimes it hurts and sometimes you cry. 00:57:14.492 --> 00:57:27.926 Sometimes it's not so easy to be young. To be small, to be you. Sometimes you just need 00:57:27.926 --> 00:57:36.052 a friend to sit down beside you. Who won't talk, who won't ask, who'll just wait for 00:57:36.052 --> 00:57:44.408 you I'll wait for you to tell me it all. Tell me it all, you can tell me it all. Tell me 00:57:44.408 --> 00:57:52.294 it all, tell me it all. Tell me it all, you can tell me it all. Tell me it all 00:57:58.776 --> 00:58:04.291 The Children's Hour is produced by The Children's Hour Incorporated, a New Mexico non-profit. 00:58:04.331 --> 00:58:10.977 You can find photos, playlists, learning guides, and activities for every episode at ChildrensHour.org. 00:58:10.977 --> 00:58:16.402 Today's show was written and produced by me, Katie Stone, with Christina Stella. We had 00:58:16.402 --> 00:58:22.017 production help from McKenzie Graunke, Sarah Gabrielli, and Thaniel Lentz. Chad Scheer recorded 00:58:22.017 --> 00:58:28.679 us at Outpost, and Amber Shiel writes our learning guides. Find the ones for this show at childrenshour.org. 00:58:28.679 --> 00:58:35.061 for Communication Nation. Find our podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or go to our 00:58:35.061 --> 00:58:41.543 patreon.com slash The Children's Hour. Or ask your smart speaker to play The Children's Hour 00:58:41.543 --> 00:58:48.765 podcast. Our music was written by C.K. Barlow. The Children's Hour is distributed by Native 00:58:48.765 --> 00:58:56.295 Voice One, the Native American radio network. Thanks for listening to the Children's Hour 00:58:56.295 --> 00:59:00.000 Kids Public Radio. © 2026 The Children’s Hour Inc. All Rights Reserved.